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Special Dispatch|3282 |October 8, 2010 Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor German Jihadists in Waziristan: Background In recent years, a large number of German nationals have found their way to training camps in Waziristan. These individuals are currently at the center of a suspected terror plot against a number of European countries, which has prompted the U.S. to issue an advisory to its citizens in Europe and to greatly step up its drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal regions. While the recent terror warnings are based on the confessions of a captured terrorist, Ahmed Sidiqi, and other classified information, the presence of these German jihadists in Waziristan is no secret. In recent years various organizations have featured these jihadists in their propaganda videos, many of them in the German language. The following report is based entirely on these jihadist materials. There are basically two different groupings of Germans in Waziristan. The first consists of members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), which is based in South Waziristan and is close to the Pakistani Taliban (Tehreek-e Taleban Pakistan, or TTP). The second group, known as the "German Taliban," is affiliated with a rival Uzbek-led organization, the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), which is based in North Waziristan. This full report is complimentary of the Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor. You can also subscribe to a year of the JTTM Weekly Digest for $200.00. The Digest includes a selection of material from the JTTM. To subscribe to the JTTM Weekly Digest, visithttps://secure3.convio.net/memri/site/Donation2?df_id=1253&1253.donation=form. (Sign up today - subscription price is set to increase in the next few weeks). Germans in the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan has released numerous videos featuring its German members. These videos document life in the training camps and military encounters with the Pakistani army; most also contain appeals to Muslims in Germany to emigrate to the Afghanistan-Pakistan region and join the jihad. A number of German-speakers in these videos are shown with their faces uncovered: Abu Adam, Abu Ibrahim, Abu 'Abdallah, Ahmad, Abu Askar, and Abu Safiyya. Abu Safiyya, whose real name was Djavad Sediqi, was killed on October 17, 2009; his wife and daughter continue to live in Waziristan. German IMU jihadist Abu Askar in a video released in early October 2009 Alongside these individuals, there are clearly additional Germans in the IMU. The German-language videos show other mujahideen who appear to be white Europeans, and some whose faces have been pixilated; these latter should be a source of concern, since their identities may have been concealed in order to allow them to return to Europe and carry out attacks there. The IMU does not have a history of operations outside of Central and South Asia, but its late founder and Emir, Tahir Yuldashev, clearly indicated such intentions: "Our goal is not just to conquer Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, but all the world, and that [all the world] be under Allah's rule… We wage jihad, and for us there are no borders."[1] On October 7, 2010, a new IMU German video was posted on jihadist forums. It consisted entirely of a monologue from Abu Ibrahim, in which he bid his mother farewell and told her they would meet in Paradise, and discoursed at length on jihad and martyrdom. It was not clear whether this was meant in a general sense or whether Abu Ibrahim was anticipating immediate martyrdom, but the general tone of the video was one of a farewell message.[2] Abu Ibrahim The "German Taliban" The other Germans in Waziristan are those affiliated with the Islamic Jihad Union. The most famous member of these IJU-linked "German Taliban" was Eric Breininger, aka 'Abd Al-Ghaffar Al-Almani, who was killed by the Pakistani armed forces in late April, 2010. A short time after his death, a book he had written, Mein Weg nach Jannah ("My Path to Paradise") surfaced on the online jihadist forums. In the book, Breininger discusses his conversion to Islam, his radicalization, his relations with the so-called "Sauerland Cell," and his experiences in Waziristan, in addition to theoretical portions in which he writes of his theology and worldview. Breininger relates the origins of the "German Taliban" as follows: "After three years in the [Uzbek] Islamic Jihad Union, I still had problems understanding the othermujahideen. They were all nice brothers, but there was no one brother with whom I could [truly] communicate. I missed being able to exchange thoughts with someone… I began to pray to Allah to send German brothers to our group… "After three months in Afghanistan we returned to Waziristan. When we were back in Waziristan a commander came and told me that he had some German brothers undergoing training. He allowed me to visit them. At first I thought they would stay in the Islamic Jihad Union, but they told me they wanted to go to the Taliban. I thought: would it also be better for me to be in a group where I would be able to understand the brothers? "… I decided to go to the Taliban with the other brothers… The Taliban allowed us to form a subgroup. At first there were six of us. We founded the German Taliban Mujahideen group, and we chose Abu Ishaq Al-Muhajir as commander. In this way the first German jihadist group in the world was born. "This group was meant to be a home for all the German-speaking Muslims, who could arrive here from the entire world in order to fulfill their duties to Allah and fight in the path of Allah to make Allah's word reign supreme. "Thanks to Allah, our group steadily grew. Not just individuals arrived, but also families with children, far from their lands of birth, to struggle for Allah's will. The Lord of the worlds supplied us with provisions, through donations from various countries, but most of all from Turkey…"[3] The German Taliban seems to also include American members. One recent video contained an English-language statement from a certain "Sayfullah the American."[4] An earlier video gave the name of one of its operatives as "Abu Ibrahim the American."[5] Al-Qaeda itself has one well-known German operative, Bekkay Harrach, aka Abu Talha. He last surfaced in a video released on September 19, 2009, shortly before the German parliamentary elections, in which he warned Germany that "bitter times are ahead" if the elections did not result in a new government that would withdraw from Afghanistan. The video was unusually specific about this threat: Abu Talha warned Muslims in Germany to stay away from public areas for the two weeks following the elections, and for unexplained reasons promised that the city of Kiel (north of Hamburg) would remain safe. He also told German Muslims: "If jihad begins in Germany, at first leave Al-Qaeda to carry out its work. If there is then a need to move on to a second stage, we will inform you what each and every one of you can do to participate in the jihad in Germany."[6] German Al-Qaeda operative Abu Talha It turned out that Abu Talha's video was only the first in a coordinated threats campaign. It was followed by an audio message from Osama bin Laden titled "A Message to the European Peoples." This message only contained implied threats, but it was released in a version subtitled in German, showed what appeared to be a German flag in the background, and in addition may have included a coded message to the IJU. This was followed by a video from the IJU-linked German Taliban, in which a jihadist named Ayyub warned that jihad was coming to Germany; as he spoke, a series of images in the background showed the Brandenburg Gate, the Frankfurt skyline, the Oktoberfest grounds in Munich, Hamburg Central Station, and Cologne Cathedral. Al-Qaeda's yearly 9/11 video, released approximately the same time, also contained a reference to Abu Talha's threats.[7] At the time, these threats sent the online jihadist forums into a frenzy of anticipation, which only died down when the promised attacks failed to materialize in October 2009. Some continued to hope for attacks though; for instance, one jihadist poet wrote:[8] "Blow up Berlin, Abu Talha / Paint us a tableau in blood "Strike wide swathes with an atom bomb / Make them ruins in a flash" [1] See Emir of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan in New Video: 'Our Goal Is Not Just to Conquer Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, but the Whole World', January 13, 2010; Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Urges German Muslims to Participate in Jihad in Afghanistan, January 27, 2009; New Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Video Features German-Speaking Jihadist, April 13, 2009; New Recruiting Video from German Jihadists in the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, October 5, 2009;New Video Celebrates German "Martyr" from Ranks of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, November 26, 2009. [2] See In New Video, German IMU Jihadist Bids His Mother Goodbye, Says They'll Meet in Paradise, October 8, 2010. [3] See Book by Slain German Jihadi Eric Breininger: The Children of the German Taliban "Will Be a Special Generation of Terrorists that Will Not Appear… in any Database… And Can Infiltrate the Infidels' Countries without Attracting Attention", May 5, 2010. [4] See Sayfullah, American Jihadi in Afghanistan, Calls on Muslims to Join the Jihad, April 12, 2010. [5] See An Overview of Al-Qaeda's Recent Threats against Germany, September 27, 2009. [6] See Al-Qaeda's Pre-Elections Warning to the German People: Unless the Next Government Withdraws from Afghanistan, "Bitter Times Are Ahead", September 24, 2009. [7] An Overview of Al-Qaeda's Recent Threats against Germany, September 27, 2010. [8] See Jihadist Poem: 'Blow Up Berlin, Abu Talha / Paint Us a Tableau in Blood', November 12, 2009.